Chapter 22
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After what seemed like hours of walking, the metal spider led the quest members down a dark corridor which eventually started to brighten as light could be seen. Zoe bent down picked up the spider and wrapped the makeshift leash around it once again and silently conveyed to the others the need to be quiet as they made their way towards the light.
Eventually, the demigods came across a set of huge wooden double doors that had two Laestrygonian giants in front of it, as well as an Empousa who was probably there to supervise them as the giants didn't have a working brain cell between them.
"Well, it looks like we found the arena" Thalia smirked causing Zoe to send her a 'No shit' look.
"Halt! What do you filthy half-bloods want!?" Shouted the Empousa.
"We want you to get out of our way creature" Zoe ordered, saying the word creature in a tone that she knew the Empousa would be insulted by.
"What. Did. You. Just. Call. Me!?" the monster hissed at a smirking hunter of Artemis.
"You heard me creature" mocked Zoe again.
"Can I eat them?" asked one of the giants.
"NO!" shouted the Empousa. "Take them to the arena. Our master is always looking for new entertainment."
"I think not..." Thalia said as she began to ready her weapon, but stopped once the wooden doors opened to reveal an entire colosseum full of monsters.
"Bugger" muttered Thalia letting her spearhead drop to the floor.
/\/\/\/\/\
"WELCOME NEW CONTESTANTS!" shouted a large tattooed giant with red skin. "Are you read..."
"And you are?!" demanded Thalia miffed much to the confusion of the group.
"What?" asked the red-skinned giant dumbly.
"I said, and you are? That means who are you and are you ready for the ass kicking you're about to get?" Thalia answered.
Recovering from his stunned look at having been talked to in such away, especially in his own arena, the giant divulged his identity. "I am Antaeus, favored son of Poseidon. I am master of this arena" he said somewhat smugly with a hint of pride in his voice.
"Hmmm… nope never heard of you. Are you sure you're a son of Poseidon? I know Uncle Poseidon has had some ugly ass kids, but you look like an Ogre with a tenth-degree sunburn." mocked the daughter of Zeus.
"Thalia what the hell are you doing?!" hissed Annabeth as she grabbed her arm.
"Trust me" whispered Thalia who quickly whipped her head around when she heard his voice.
"Come now Thalia, is that any way to speak to your host," said Luke who was walking calmly down the steps so that he stood next to the giant son of Poseidon.
"Luke! What is a rat bastard like you doing here...although I suppose you fit in quite well here with these monsters" Thalia spat as she quickly fired a lightning bolt towards him.
This caused the son of Hermes to flip forward and land further down the steps as he laughed at Thalia mockingly before turning to look at Antaeus and saying "I hope you enjoy your new gift milord, I'm sure they will help with our deal."
"We're not a gift from you or anyone, you filthy traitorous son of a bitch!" the daughter of Zeus shouted.
"Quiet you cunt!" Luke demanded before turning and conversing with Antaeus.
"Oh no, you dit-ten just call me a cunt and tell me to be quiet you pussy!" Thalia hissed snapping her fingers in a sassy manner. "Get your white ass down here so I can serve it to you on a plate, bitch."
"Enough!" shouted Antaeus. "It has been decided you will each fight until you die so..."
"Hold on… wait just one minute… why aren't you fighting? Are you scared of a girl? Are you afraid that a daughter of Zeus will beat your ass into the ground?" Thalia asked with a smile as she raised her chin.
"I do not fight girls..." started the giant before being cut off as the daughter of Zeus began making chicken noises.
"YOU…YOU… DA…DARE TO… MOCK ME!?" bellowed Antaeus.
"Yes, I dare, now are we going to fight or are you going to show everyone here how much of a coward you really are" mocked Thalia as she flipped Antaeus off and then slammed the butt of her spear into the ground.
"Ve…very well, I will show you little girl why I am master of this arena!" Antaeus hissed.
"Milord I must protest!" Luke interrupted. "I don't know why but this is exactly what she wants, I urge you to reconsider."
"SILENCE! I will not be insulted or mocked in my own arena! I suggest you choose your words wisely son of Hermes we still have not come to an agreement on allowing you safe passage through my arena!" shouted the son of Poseidon grabbing a club that had to be the size of a tree.
"I hope to the gods you have an idea" Zoe hissed not taking her eyes off Antaeus.
"Don't worry, I have a trick or two up my sleeve" Thalia said smirking as she walked forward with her spear.
Jumping down from his 'throne' the ground shook slightly when the giant landed in the arena. "Prepare to be crushed little girl!" hissed Antaeus with a murderous expression as Thalia continued to smile which infuriated him even more.
The monsters in the arena held their breath waiting for the start of the match which began when Antaeus lunged forward bringing his club down in an overhead strike which Thalia narrowly avoided by rolling to the side and jabbing her spear forward grazing the arm of her opponent resulting in a growl from him.
Antaeus swung his club around in an attempt to swat her from the side, Thalia using her natural athleticism and speed jumped over the swing landing unevenly on her feet which Antaeus took advantage of and quickly struck out with his hand knocking Thalia back quite a bit till she landed on her back the breath knocked out of her. The crowd erupted into cheers at the fallen demigod which Antaeus happily lapped up. Seconds passed whilst Thalia recovered her breath and was deliberately taking her time so that she could consolidate her power until she heard the giant approaching loudly and quickly, ignoring the aching in her back she jumped up and quickly hefted her spear over her head before taking a few steps and throwing it. The spear sailed through the air almost making a whistling sound until it came to rest in the chest of Antaeus who quickly came to a stop with a look of surprise covering his face. The crowd was silent also with surprise across their faces before Antaeus began laughing and slowly pulled the spear out which was quickly followed by sand pouring out of the wound. However much to the shock of the demigods, the sand and dirt from the arena began crawling up his leg to the wound that was on his chest then proceeded to fill it with dirt before falling away to reveal unblemished skin underneath no sign of the wound that adorned his chest just a moment before.
"You will never beat me, foolish girl. For as I as I touch the ground I can never be defeated." Antaeus sneered.
"We'll see" replied the daughter of Zeus before changing her pose into a traditional lightning bolt pose. A flash of light blinded everyone in the room before dying down to reveal Thalia holding a bolt of light that was blue and outlined in black, it seemed to look like lightning, but everyone present could tell that it was something else entirely. Silence adorned the arena, even Luke was watching in shock as he did not know about this new power of Thalia's.
"It looks like I have a few tricks up my sleeve as well," Thalia said with a strained expression on her face at having to contain so much power in such a small form.
Shouting in rage, Antaeus quickly began to run forward so that he could strike the piss ant demigod before him, however, he was unlucky as Thalia just as quickly hurled the energy bolt which struck the giant in the chest and seemly penetrated his skin…but nothing happened.
"Ha, is that it?! It looks like your little plan failed." mocked the son of Poseidon as he continued to walk forward. However, with each step, his movements seemed to become slower, stiffer, and his body became more translucent. "What…what… is… this!?" Antaeus shouted in confusion and anger.
"This? Oh this is my plan to kick your ass, which seems to have worked pretty well by the looks of things" said Thalia retrieving her spear from the ground and watching as her opponent's movements slowly ground to a halt, as the earth from the ground tried in earnest to heal its son but there was no wound for it to heal. Eventually, he ground to a complete halt his mouth left open in a silent scream. The arena watched in amazement as the host seemed to turn into a giant glass statue. All eyes turned to Thalia which started to unnerve her. "Um, guys I think we should…you know…go" said Thalia slowly backing away.
"GET THEM!" Shouted a monster before practically the entire arena of monsters descended upon the group.
"Nico stay close" whispered Bianca pulling her brother close.
"Oh, bloody hell!" Zoe huffed as she drew her bowstring letting loose arrow after arrow killing as many monsters as she could, yet she knew that even she couldn't stop this many monsters, however, she grinned when the monsters were so close to each other that she was able to kill more than one monster per arrow.
"What are we going to do now?!" Annabeth shrieked causing Thalia to stare at her.
"I thought we were supposed to ask you that" Thalia replied causing said girl to blush slightly.
Suddenly the shadows seemed to come alive and multiply. The monsters slowed to a halt wondering what was going on. Seconds passed before the darkness enveloped the entire arena disrupting everyone's vision. It was so dark; it was as if their eyes had been forcefully shut causing shouts to erupt from the monsters.
Clearing her mind, Zoe focused on trying to make out some shapes in the dark. Her blessing from Artemis allowed her to see better than the others in the dark, however, this was a darkness she had never seen before. She quickly pictured the layout of the arena in her mind, Zoe now knowing their position quickly spun round huddling the group together and pushing them towards the door. They came to the wall of the arena and began feeling their way left until they hit the wood of the door and hurled it open which provided a small bit of light. Turning round Zoe slammed the door shut, the inky blackness disappearing as if she had only blinked, and the darkness contained in the arena.
"What the hell was that!" shouted Thalia before falling flat on her face, her energy spent.
"How did you do that Bianca…or was it you boy?" asked Zoe looking at the children of Hades.
"Us…why do you think it was us?!" Bianca demanded not appreciating the tone Zoe was using.
"Shadows seemly come to life and then everything goes black combined with the fact you two are children of Hades, I just put 2 and 2 together. What were you thinking at the time?" quizzed the hunter.
Huffing Bianca explained how she just wanted the monsters not to be able to see them.
"You must have inadvertently called upon the demigod powers of your father" Zoe mused. "Let us be off then we do not have any time to waste" Zoe sighed as she lifted the child of Zeus and threw her over her shoulder "come let us make haste, we do not want to be here when those monsters come through that door."
Quickly the five demigods made their way through the dark tunnel as the sounds of the monsters trying to find them soon became silent. "I…I think…we los…lost them." Bianca panted out.
"Shhh! Never say that you could jinx us!" Thalia hissed as she took a defensive position just in case of an attack.
"Daughter of Zeus, although I share your sentiments I ask you to remember that Bianca is still new to our world and would benefit greatly from our experience's rather than from our attitudes." Zoe explained.
"You're right Zoe. Bianca, would you please accept my apology I didn't mean to sound like a bitch?" Thalia asked.
"Of course, I will, provided you tell me what Zoe and you meant when you said something about Atalanta having magic fingers. Are they really magical?" asked the daughter of Hades.
At this Thalia's face turned beet red as she stutteringly said "I…I…don…don't thin…think I'm…the…the right person…to ans…answer that question. Zoe shou…should be the…the one to tell…tell you."
Smiling widely Zoe quickly replied, "usually daughter of Zeus I would agree with you as it concerns the hunt, but considering it is a term for her forgiveness I will allow you to answer her question."
"Bitch" Thalia mumbled to herself "are you sure that's what you really want?"
"Yes, I'm certain." Responded Bianca.
Thalia walked over to Bianca and started to whisper in her ear. The more Thalia whispered the redder Bianca's face became. By the time Thalia was finished explaining about Atalanta's magic fingers Bianca was standing there in shock as she was not expecting what Thalia had told her.
"Bianca, are thee alright?" Zoe asked
Bianca stood there and nodded as she finally asked "ca…can the…they really…do that?"
"Evidently so" Thalia replied.
"Bu…but doesn't…doesn't that…hurt?" Bianca inquired.
"It can if the person doesn't know what they're doing, kind of like Annabeth, but when you have someone with magic fingers it can be amazing," Thalia explained with a smirk
"Hey!" exclaimed the daughter of wisdom "I didn't hear any complaints at the time!"
"That was because you actually got it right that time. I bet you can't do it again." Thalia responded in a snarky tone.
"Cunt," Annabeth mumbled to herself.
"Bianca what are they talking about?" Asked a confused Nico.
"UUUUHHH, nothing…nothing that… concerns you." Bianca replied.
"Come on tell me! Tell me! Tell me!" Nico kept saying until Bianca had finally had enough "Fine you really want to know she was telling about a woman's period and how we bleed and all of that stuff! You want to know more?!" Bianca hissed.
"Oh, gods no! That's disgusting, forget I even brought it up!" Nico said with a look of horror on his face as the girls silently giggled at Bianca's lie.
"Alright as fun as this has been we need to get moving before something does come along and find us," Annabeth stated.
"I agree with Annabeth we need to continue on." Said Zoe.
At that, the demigods continued their trek towards the workshop of Hephaestus. After what had seemed like hours the mechanical spider stopped and began trying to go through a door.
"This must be it." Zoe said as she picked up the spider "Annabeth come see if you can open the door."
Annabeth came forward still wary of the spider but she began to search for the mark of Daedalus. "Here it is," Annabeth said as she touched the mark and the door opened.
The demigods went through the door apprehensively unsure as to what they would find on the other side. Once inside they were surprised to find that the workshop of Hephaestus was an actual workshop (you never know with some gods). The demigods jumped at a sudden loud crash followed by some rather strong language. "Gods damn Toyota!" bellowed the voice.
"Uuhh…excuse us Lord Hephaestus, may we have a moment of your time?" Annabeth asked.
"What are you demigods doing in my workshop?!" Hephaestus asked loudly.
"Eurytion at the HHH ranch gave us this spider so that we could find you and ask for your help in finding the workshop of Daedalus," Zoe replied as the spider jumped into the hand of Hephaestus.
"I am sorry demigods but I do not know where Daedalus' workshop is," Hephaestus responded while tinkering with the spider.
"Surely you must know of a way to find him, Milord?" Annabeth pleaded.
"Well…there is a way to find him and I suppose I could tell you what it is but I want something in return. Oh and do not call me Shirley." Hephaestus replied.
At this, the demigods rolled their eyes at the reference to the movie Airplane. "What is it we must do?" Asked Zoe.
"Ah…a hunter of Artemis, I did not expect to find a hunter in the maze. Although, I suppose if you want to track someone who better than a hunter." Hephaestus responded.
"Yes a lot of good I have done; we keep getting lost." Zoe hissed as she was upset that she failed to navigate the maze.
Hephaestus let out a bellowing laugh as he said "do not be hard on yourself hunter you have done better than most. Unfortunately, sooner or later the labyrinth overcomes the best of trackers."
At this Zoe bowed slightly and said: "I understand thank you."
"Now as for what I need. I need for you demigods to do is investigate one of my favorite forges." Hephaestus said as he gave the quest members the specifics of the side quest.
A few minutes later "Lord Hephaestus, we accept your terms for providing us with the information we need to find Daedalus." Zoe replied to the god of blacksmiths.
"UUUHHH…question" Thalia blurted out. "Just how are we supposed to find this forge? If we can't find Daedalus we sure as Hades won't be able to find his forge."
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Let us take a moment to get sidetracked from the story.
At that moment in the realm of Hel on Asgard an "AAACCHHHOOO!" could be heard.
"What was that my little deathly toy?" Hela asked seductively.
"I…uhhh…uuuhhh…I be…believe…(by the gods do not stop) some…someone…took (fffffuuuuuccccckkkk mmmmeeeee!) my name…name in vain." Responded an exhausted but pleasured Hades.
/\/\/\/\/\
And now back to your regularly scheduled story.
"No need to worry young demigods I have a way for you to find my forge with ease," Hephaestus said as he tossed the mechanical spider he had been working on since their arrival back to Zoe. "This will now lead you to the forge and back."
"Thank you Lord Hephaestus we shall be on our way and shall return soon," Zoe said with a small bow as she and the others re-entered the labyrinth.
"May Tyche be with you" Hephaestus whispered. "I have a feeling you're going to need it."
"Daughter of Athena stand back I am about to activate the automaton," Zoe instructed as she retrieved her makeshift leash. Once she was ready with the leash Zoe pressed the button to activate the automaton and it began to take shape once again. However, this time, to everyone's surprise, it took the shape of a small puppy.
"AAAAWWWW it's so cute!" all of the females said.
"It's just a dog." Nico replied after which he was slapped upside his head by Bianca "OOWW! What was that for?!"
"It is not just a dog!" Bianca hissed "it's cute and cuddly, so you better be nice to it!"
"Girls" Nico mumbled to himself.
"What was that?!" Bianca questioned.
"I…I sa…said I'll be nice to it," Nico replied shakenly.
Zoe laughed at the sight and then asked "Bianca are you sure that you are not the reincarnation of a hunter?"
"I don't think so, but I suppose anything is possible in the Greek world," Bianca replied.
"You shall always have a place in my hunters as long as you remain a virgin," Zoe said with a smile.
"Your hunters? What do you mean your hunters? I thought the hunters belonged to Artemis?" Annabeth inquired.
"Technically you are correct daughter of Athena, the hunters do belong to Artemis at this time; however, once she marries Perseus and Thalia she will give up her domain of virtue and will no longer be the goddess of the hunt. Thus, I have been chosen to be the new goddess of the hunt by Zeus himself." Zoe responded with pride.
"Thalia, did you know about that?" Annabeth asked shocked at what she had just heard.
"No, but I'm not surprised by it," Thalia replied to the wide-eyed demigoddess.
"Wh…why aren't you surprised? I would be shocked." Annabeth stated.
"Well once we marry Percy, Artemis and I will both become a princess of Asgard, which means that we will help in the defense of Asgard and the ten realms along with whatever other duties are required of us. So it would only be natural for Artemis to have to release a domain for this to happen. She cannot be on Asgard and be on earth with the hunters at the same time." Thalia replied.
"I…I see your point. Will you be making any changes to the hunt Zoe?" Annabeth asked turning her attention back to the huntress.
"I really see no reason to, as the mortals say if it is not broken do not fix it," Zoe responded.
"Not to be disrespectful but it is kind of broken isn't it?" Thalia asked.
"I do not understand why you would say that," Zoe replied.
"Well according to what I know the hunters despise all men and believe them all to be evil. Is that right?" Thalia replied.
"Yes, you are correct," Zoe answered.
"It seems to me that considering the current situation that type of thinking may need some adjusting. After all, your goddess is now engaged to a male. Yes, he asked her but she chose to say yes because she found him to be different than most other men. And I don't know if you've realized it or not but Nico has been traveling with us for a while and has not displayed any types of behavior that you would associate with the male population. I'm not saying to automatically trust men, but judge each one of them on their merits instead of grouping them together and possibly killing a good person." Thalia responded in a serious tone.
At that, Zoe walked in silence contemplating what Thalia had just said until she finally said "you do make a valid point, it is something to consider. I believe I should consult Lady Artemis to advise me on this and see how I should proceed."
"That would be a good start." Bianca said, "the hunters seem like a group I would enjoy being around but I could never give up seeing Nico just because he's a male."
Zoe just nodded as she contemplated the conversation she just had with Bianca and Thalia. Maybe some change is good she thought to herself.
The demigods walked for what seemed like hours following the guide provided to them by Hephaestus when suddenly they stopped as they came upon a ten-foot-wide gap in the floor. Zoe began to look for ways for them to cross but was unable to find a way across.
"Ho…how…are…are we…go…gonna get…acro…across?" Thalia asked stutteringly.
"I do not know," Zoe replied. "I can easily get the puppy and myself across thanks to the blessing of Artemis but as for the rest of you, I have no idea."
"May…maybe we…we can…backtrack…fi…find anoth…another way around." The still stuttering Thalia said.
"What is wrong with you daughter of Zeus?! There is no other way around, this is the way we must go!" Zoe hissed.
"Zoe" Annabeth called out, "she's afraid of heights."
Zoe stood there for a moment taking in what the daughter of Athena had just said before she started to giggle and asked "you are kidding right? A daughter of the sky god afraid of heights, never have I heard of such a thing."
"Don't laugh at me!" Thalia bellowed as sparks of blue lightning outlined in black began to spark all over her body.
"Thalia! Please calm down no one is laughing at you! I promise!" Annabeth pleaded.
Upon seeing the frightened look on her best friends face Thalia began to calm down causing the sparks of lightning to cease. "Sorry, I shouldn't have gotten so upset," Thalia said depressingly.
"It's fine, no harm done," Annabeth replied as she hugged her best friend.
"Thalia if you are afraid of heights why are you afraid of this hole? It is in the ground not high up as if on a building?" Zoe asked inquisitively.
"Do…do you…kno…know how…how deep that…hole is?" Thalia replied.
"No, I do not," Zoe said as she walked over to the edge of the hole and shined the flashlight in it. "Hmmm…I cannot see the bottom."
"That is exactly my point what if while I'm trying to cross it, I fall and we have no idea of how high up I am in comparison to the hole," Thalia explained.
"I…I understand your view now. I had never thought to look at it like that." Zoe responded.
"That still leaves us the problem of how will we get across," Annabeth stated.
After a few minutes of thinking, Zoe asked: "Bianca as children of Hades you and Nico can shadow travel can you not?"
Bianca looked at Nico who nodded and replied "yes we can but there is a problem. We need shadows in order for us to shadow travel, this tunnel is very dark and doesn't have any shadows for us to use." (We the writers know that Zoe has a flashlight which she could use to make a shadow. That being said there would not be a shadow on the other side for them to come out of, so there would be no telling where they will end up)
At this, the expression on Zoe's face turned to a look of worry as she had no idea how to get the others across the gap. "Let us rest for a while and see what we can think of," Zoe said as she sat against a wall.
Thalia sat back against the wall with her head in her hands blaming herself for the fact they couldn't get across the gap.
/\/\/\/\/\
Meanwhile somewhere else
"That's it gather it, gather it, hold it….FIRE!" Perseus yelled as Artemis released a gigantic ball of solar energy at the frost giant she was currently fighting. Once the ball of solar energy hit the frost giant it evaporated leaving nothing behind, not even a wet spot.
"By…by the…gods Perseus…that…that was…awes…awesome!" Yelled a happy but panting Artemis.
"You did amazing little moon, however, we still need to practice, Typhon will not be defeated as easily," Perseus said to his soon to be wife.
"Will…will I…ever be powe…powerful enough to…to defeat him?" Artemis asked in concern.
"Of course, you will. You need to remember that this, is just the beginning of what you will receive from our bond, once we are married you will become even more powerful." Perseus said while smiling at the beautiful but sweaty goddess.
"Then why…must…must I train…so diligently now? Why not wait until then?" Artemis asked in confusion.
"If we waited for you to assume your full power it would be exponentially more difficult for you to control, but by starting your training early you will be able to control your powers better without the worry of destroying the galaxy," Perseus replied as if it were nothing.
"Dest…destroy the gal…galaxy, will I really be that powerful?" Artemis asked in amazement.
"Yes, you and Thalia both will be that is why early training is important. Besides the two of you are strong, tough, and beautiful I have faith that both of you will be more than ready." Perseus replied.
"Ow! Perseus what is that in my head?!" Artemis inquired .
"It is Thalia, she seems to be angry and upset. Focus your mind on her and we will be able to make contact with her." Perseus instructed.
Doing as Perseus instructed Artemis closed her eyes and began to concentrate on Thalia. Soon she could see Thalia in her mind just as she did that time when she saw Perseus while holding up the sky. "I see her" Artemis exclaimed.
"I do as well." Perseus replied "she looks upset about something, I hope everything is alright. Hey Sparkles, what's wrong?"
"Shit! Who's there?!" Thalia hissed.
After chuckling for a moment Perseus finally said: "calm down Sparkles it's just Artemis and I. We felt that you were angry and upset so we came to see what the problem was."
"There is a ten-foot gap that we can't get across and it's my fault," Thalia said blaming herself.
"I…I'm…I can't say it!" Thalia said in frustration.
"Sparkles, we cannot help you if you do not tell us what the problem is," Perseus replied.
"You'll laugh at me," Thalia said looking downwards with tears in her eyes.
"I promise you we will not laugh if it is a problem to you it is a problem to us. Right little moon?" Perseus asked Artemis.
"Of course," Artemis said in agreement.
"Ok, it's just that I'm…I'm afraid of…heights," Thalia said apprehensively.
"Ahem, I… see… and here… I was thi…thinking it wa…was something bad." Perseus said trying not to laugh.
"Pers…Perseus…look over…over there…a fro…frost giant!" Artemis exclaimed while trying not laugh at her sister.
"Be right back Sparkles," Perseus said as Artemis and himself cut the psych link with Thalia as they both fell on the ground rolling in laughter.
"Di…did sh…she say…that she…she is afraid …of heights?!" Artemis bellowed as she continued to laugh.
"Ye…yes. It…it was all I…I could do…not…not to laugh!" Perseus exclaimed as he laughed as well.
After a moment, the two gods had recomposed themselves and concentrated on Thalia once again.
"Sorry for the interruption Sparkles," Perseus said once he reestablished contact.
"What happened? Where did you go?" Thalia asked beginning to get upset.
"Artemis was practicing with her new powers so I got her a few frost giants to practice on like I did with you that time. Well while we were talking with you the three surviving frost giants started to run amok so we had to put them down before they caused too much trouble." Perseus replied.
"Oh…" Thalia said in response.
"Now for your problem, I believe that I can help you," Perseus said to the now grinning daughter of Zeus.
"Really how?" Thalia inquired.
"I need you to walk over and show me the hole." Perseus instructed, "do not worry Sparkles I will not let anything happen to you."
"Alright, Zoe can I hold that flashlight for a moment?" Thalia asked the huntress.
"Yes but I still see no way for us to cross," Zoe replied.
Thalia took the flashlight and shined it at the hole so Perseus could see it. "I believe I can help," Perseus said.
"Really!" Thalia yelled in her mind.
"Yes, now just do as I say and everything will be alright," Perseus said to her.
"Ok, what do you need for me to do?" Thalia asked nervously.
"In your mind, I need you to take my hand while physically holding out your right hand." Perseus instructed "now slowly absorb the energy I am sending to you. I need for you to start concentrating on creating a portal to the other side. Don't worry I am supplying you with enough energy to keep it open."
"I…I…don't…think I…can do it." Thalia said as she began to sweat.
"Is this the same woman who broke through the enchantments of two gods to free me? Surely she could do something as simple as make a portal." Perseus said sarcastically.
"Are…are yo…you calling me weak and don't call me Shirley?!" Thalia hissed.
"No, your actions are calling you weak. I am just pointing them out. Maybe Annabeth was the right choice, after all, I am sure she could open a portal with my energy." Perseus teased.
"YOU SON OF A BITCH! HOW DARE YOU SAY THAT! I'LL SHOW YOU EXACTLY HOW WEAK I AM!" Thalia bellowed as a portal appeared on both sides of the gap shining brightly.
"Hurry go through it now!" Perseus exclaimed.
"Everyone through now!" Thalia yelled as she went through the portal coming out of the other side.
In a matter of seconds, everyone was across and the portals disappeared as Thalia sat on the ground exhausted from the effort.
"You did amazing Sparkles. I am sorry for saying that to you but as long as you doubted yourself it would not have worked and the only way I knew how to rectify that was to make you angry." Perseus explained.
"I know, I figured that out as soon as I crossed. Just to let you know you owe me for that and I intend to collect on it soon. Do you understand me?!" Thalia said in a tone that made it clear that it was happening whether Perseus wanted it to or not.
"Yes, my love. Rest for a few minutes to gather some strength back. I love you, Thalia, I will see you soon." Perseus said in response to the tired demigoddess.
"I love you to Percy," Thalia replied as she drifted off to sleep.
(To our many readers I apologize in advance but I couldn't help myself)
"…ali wake up. Thalia wake up." A voice said.
"Mmmm…not…not done…ten…ten…more…" Thalia started to when a SLAP! Could be heard echoing throughout the tunnel. "What the fuck was that for?!" Thalia bellowed as she sat up holding her cheek where she observed Zoe and Annabeth standing over her.
"You wouldn't wake up and we need to continue our side quest for Hephaestus," Annabeth replied.
"That doesn't give you any reason to slap me!" Thalia said still irate at the action.
"Quiet daughter of Zeus!" Zoe hissed "if you could keep your urges under control then we would not have had to slap you!"
"Wha…what…what do you mean keep my urges under control?" Thalia asked.
"You had started to moan…" Zoe began to say when Thalia interrupted and said: "and you slapped me for a little moaning!"
"If you would stop interrupting and let me finish." Zoe whispered loudly "the boy heard you starting to moan so he came over to check on you and found you touching yourself. He called us over immediately and began asking questions, fortunately, Bianca took him away so that we could wake you."
"Oh," Thalia said with a bright red blush "thank you I guess."
"Don't thank us yet drippy, you get to answer all of Nico's questions," Annabeth replied.
"What! Couldn't you have just made something up to tell him?" Thalia questioned.
"Yes we could have daughter of Zeus but that would deprive us of our entertainment," Zoe said laughingly.
"Bitches" Thalia mumbled to herself.
At that Bianca and Nico had made their way back over to the three demigoddesses. "Thalia, are you ok? I was worried about you." Stated the son of Hades.
"I'm fine Nico, thanks for being so concerned about me," Thalia replied.
"Are you sure? It sounded like you were in pain and then when you started to move your fingers I didn't know what to think. Why did you do that?" Nico asked rapidly.
"Uhhh…it's…it's difficult…to…to explain." Said an embarrassed Thalia.
"It's ok I'm really smart," Nico replied.
"Well…" Thalia had started to say with a red face when Annabeth interrupted and said: "Actually Nico it's a medical condition."
"It is?" Nico asked confusingly.
Thalia rapidly nodded her head as Annabeth continued on, "yes it is. See sometimes when a female has been very bad she gets this condition that's known as a yeast infection." At this Thalia's head quickly turned to look at Annabeth in anger. "when a female gets this disease her female parts become sweaty, itchy, and have a repulsive odor that causes them to have to wear one of those Christmas tree car deodorizers in their underwear."
Nico suddenly started to sniff around and said: "it's ok Thalia you don't smell bad."
Thalia was about to jump on the poor son of Hades when Zoe grabbed her by the arm to restrain her."
"So what you observed and heard was Thalia's yeast infection acting up. Unfortunately, she forgot her vagisil and her female parts started to itch while she was sleeping and she began to scratch that itch (pun intended) and it felt so good that she moaned in relief." Annabeth said while trying her best to keep a straight face.
Nico stood there for a moment trying to process all that he had just learned and then finally said "I…I think I understand but I have one more question. Back in school, they made me take a Home Economics class. They had us try and make our own bread. To make the bread we had to put yeast in it so that it would rise, so is this where the yeast to make bread comes from?"
At this, the four demigoddess's stood there with their mouths agape. After about a moment Annabeth had recomposed herself enough that she finally said "ye…yes… it is… that is…is a very…intelligent question." Annabeth said trying to hold her giggles in "you…you see Nic…Nico once a… a month… she has…has to go…ahem to the doctor…who…who removes the…the yeast powder that has developed inside her." Said Annabeth who quickly turned around with her hands over mouth laughing as quietly as she could. While Thalia was becoming even angrier at her soon to be obliterated best friend.
"Thalia" Nico called out to the daughter of Zeus who quickly turned towards him as he said, "I'm…I'm sorry that you caught this disease but you should stop being a bad girl."
At this Bianca, Zoe, and Annabeth lost control and fell to the floor laughing as Thalia stood there so red that one couldn't tell if it were from anger or embarrassment. It was most likely a combination of the two. "Fucking cunts" Thalia whispered to herself as Nico stood there wondering what was so funny.
Thalia feeling utterly humiliated turned and started walking down the tunnel.
"Where…where…ar…are you…going?" Asked a still laughing Annabeth.
"We need to complete this quest for Hephaestus so we can learn how to find Daedalus! So I doing what I'm supposed to be doing!" Thalia bellowed.
"Well…well wait…for us." Annabeth said as a glow brightened the tunnel and once it had receded a small box with a note attached was sitting in Annabeth's hand. One look at the note and Annabeth started laughing again. "It…it's…fo…for…you!" and tossed the box to Thalia.
Thalia caught the box and screamed and proceeded to throw the box down "FUCKING BITCH!" and she then shot a lightning bolt down the tunnel and then began to stomp away.
Confused even more Nico picked the box up as he passed it and read the note "for the times when you cannot scratch that itch, love your sister and future wife Artemis." Nico looked at the box and was even more confused when he saw that it was a box of Vagisil. I better hold onto this she made need it later Nico thought to himself as he stuck the box in his pocket and ran to catch up to the others.
/\/\/\/\/\
Back to Perseus and Artemis
"Did you really have to do that? Now she is pissed at us and you know how she gets." Perseus said in a chastising tone.
"I…I…coul…could not…help myse…myself!" Artemis exclaimed as she laughed loudly.
At this, Perseus laughed slightly but he quickly recomposed himself "seriously Artemis we need a plan so that she does not fry our asses the next time we see her!"
"I already have one that is sure to be successful," Artemis replied.
"Really?" Perseus asked I surprise "what is this plan of yours?"
"Well," Artemis said as he walked towards Perseus "when she confronts us about the harmless little prank, we scratch her itch really hard and she will no longer be mad at us. Now come I have an itch that may need scratching."
"Ye…yes little moon," Perseus said nervously as he followed Artemis.
/\/\/\/\/\
Back to the labyrinth
The group continued on in silence as they really didn't want to piss off the daughter of Zeus any more than she had been. They walked for an undetermined amount of time (it could have been five minutes or three hours in the labyrinth who knows) when Thalia finally spoke: "is it getting hot it here?"
At this Annabeth just rolled her eyes and replied: "by the gods Thalia can't you control…"
But was cut off by Zoe "no daughter of Athena she is correct the temperature has increased. We must be getting close to the workshop. It is important that we remain as quiet as possible. Thalia guard or rear flank while I continue following the puppy."
As the demigods got further down the corridor it became hotter and hotter. After a few minutes, Zoe noticed a bright light coming from behind her "whoever has that flashlight on needs to turn it off now!" Zoe hissed.
"What flashlights?" Thalia asked as she was bringing up the rear.
"The flashlight that is causing all of this light and giving away…" Zoe began to say as she turned and immediately her eyes widened "Fuck! Annabeth, Bianca, and Nico get behind me now!"
"Wha…what's wrong Zoe?" Annabeth asked as she turned to look at what Zoe was looking at "oh shit! Thalia what's wrong with you?!"
"Huh? There's nothing wrong with me, you two need to stop playing around." Replied the daughter of Zeus.
"Get behind me now!" Zoe ordered once again as Bianca, Nico, and Annabeth made their way behind the huntress. "Thalia, you need to calm down. Please, we are all friends here." Zoe said as if trying to calm a child.
"What the fuck are you talking about?!" Hissed a confused Thalia "I'm fine, other than being hot."
"Zoe, what's wrong with her?" Bianca inquired.
"There's nothing wrong with me, except for the fact that the three of you keep talking about me like I'm not even here!" Thalia bellowed as the light started to grow brighter.
"Ok, Ok, there is nothing wrong with you, but why is your aura like it was on Asgard?" Zoe asked.
"It is?" Thalia asked as she looked at her arms to see a bright blue aura outlined in black. "Hmmm…I wonder what's causing this?"
"I…I thought you had gotten mad and lost control again like in Asgard," Zoe replied.
"Wha…what happened on Asgard and what does it have to do with this?" Annabeth asked.
"I would tell her, but honestly, I don't remember much after getting pissed off and threatening to kick your asses," Thalia responded.
"Ther…there was… an unfortunate incident on…on Asgard, that caused some… very big problems. The long and the short of it is Thalia became so mad that she was able to access part of her power from the partial bonding she has already done with Perseus." Zoe explained.
"Is…is that all?" Annabeth asked nonchalantly. "I don't see what the problem is, how powerful could she have been?"
"You, bloody daft demigod. She scorched the air, the fucking air! Who else do you know that can scorch the air? There is no one that I know of past or present that could do that!" Zoe said chastising to Annabeth.
"I did that?" Thalia asked in surprise. "Damn Percy was right I will be a badass."
"Yes, and if Perseus had not intercepted the lightning bolt you threw at us we would have been obliterated. As it was almost all the hunters had to ask for new uniforms afterward." Responded Zoe.
"Alright, first we need to test a safe range, so we will know how close we can get to her and still be safe," Zoe stated.
"Oh come on! I'm not going to hurt you." Thalia said in an agitated tone.
"Thalia you may not mean to but it is your aura that I am worried about. When we fired arrows at you on Asgard your aura destroyed all of the arrows. So to be safe we need to make sure of how close we can be to you without your aura affecting us." Zoe explained.
"Yeah like I said I really don't remember that but I see your point. Sorry for the outburst." Thalia replied.
"It is understandable," Zoe said as she slowly walked towards Thalia. Once she got about five feet in front of Thalia Zoe had to back away quickly "Alright, we need to keep about a ten-foot distance from you."
"Why ten-feet? You got closer than that before you backed away?" Thalia asked.
"That is true, but we do not know if the power of your aura will continue to expand. At five-feet it felt like me skin was actually burning, so I think having a five-foot cushion is reasonable." Zoe replied.
"It is alright we can work with this. I just wish we knew why this was happening now?" Zoe questioned, "Do you know anything about these powers of yours?"
"I know what Percy told me." Thalia responded "he said that I would sync with his domains but one in particular. He said I would draw a good bit of power from his domain of time."
"Wait, so that means you will be able to control time?" Annabeth asked.
"Ah…no. The way Percy explained it is that time is a fundamental force of the universe, and having the powers of my father would allow me to draw upon another fundamental force which is energy." Thalia explained.
"How…how does having powers over lightning allow you access to the fundamental forces of the universe?" Annabeth asked in an inquisitive tone.
"Evidently lighting is energy given form, so I already control energy to an extent. Once we are married and our bonding is complete I will be able to absorb and control all types of energy." Thalia replied.
"All right but that does not explain why this is happening now," Zoe said to the daughter of Zeus.
"Honestly, I'm just as confused as you are," Thalia said as she shrugged her shoulders.
"Hmmm… could that be it?...wait maybe…no, no, that wouldn't do it." Annabeth said to herself as she tried to find the answer to Thalia's condition.
"Annabeth are yo…" Thalia began to say when. "I got it!" Annabeth yelled.
"You have what?" Asked Zoe.
"I know why this is happening to Thalia," Annabeth said excitedly.
"Why?!" Thalia exclaimed.
"According to Percy, you will be able to absorb all types of energy correct?" Annabeth asked as Thalia nodded. "Well were are next to a volcano which is super-heated by geothermic energy. You are absorbing energy from the volcano itself." Annabeth stated proudly.
"Damn," Zoe said, "this means we need to be extra careful."
"Why?" Asked Annabeth.
"We do not know what would happen if she gathers too much energy so we must take precautions so that nothing bad happens to her." Responded Zoe.
"Come let us continue and we will plan while we walk. Thalia if you start to feel funny or anything let us know." Zoe instructed.
"Yes, mother," Thalia replied in a sing-song tone as she rolled her eyes.
At this Zoe began mumbling to herself and all that could be made out was "smartass daughters of Zeus, and she should have stayed a tree."
After a few minutes of walking a voice called out "hey guys, I don't think I can go any further." Thalia said as she was glowing even brighter than before.
"Why what's wrong?" Annabeth asked of her best friend as she took a few steps closer and came within seven feet of Thalia Annabeth could feel the effects of her aura now more powerful than ever. "Everyone stay back we can't get any closer to her," Annabeth said as she backed away.
The others just nodded as Zoe asked: "what are you feeling?"
"It…it feels…like…like I'm stuffed and I'm still eating and can't stop." Thalia replied as she slipped down against the wall.
"Damn it to Hades!" Zoe exclaimed "she's absorbing more energy. The closer we get to the volcano the more energy she is absorbing and that is not good."
"Wh…why what will happen?" Nico inquired.
"If…she continues to absorb energy at this rate without being able to release it she…she…will…explode, and obliterate everything around her for miles if not further," Zoe explained.
"Than…thanks for…for the…bedtime…story." Replied a snarky Thalia.
At that, the demigods heard the puppy yapping and turned to find it barking and jumping up and down at a door. "It looks like we're here," Annabeth stated.
"Thalia you stay here and rest, Nico you watch over her while the rest of us complete the mission," Zoe ordered.
"Bu…but I…need to go…with," Thalia responded.
"Thalia this is a simple recon mission. Bianca can use the shadows to hide, Annabeth has her cap of invisibility, and I have my training and blessing from Artemis. This will allow us to get inside find out what we need to know and leave before we can be discovered. If you went with us who knows what would happen to you and us being surround by the much energy. So stay here rest keep an eye on the boy until we return." Zoe instructed.
"Alright, just be careful and don't be gone too long," Thalia replied.
Zoe nodded and turn to Annabeth and Bianca and said: "come let us be done with this mission."
Thalia remained sitting right where Zoe and the others had left her as she became worried that something had happened to the others. "Damn it! I should be there!" Thalia hissed to herself.
"Thal…Thalia." Nico stuttered out.
"Yea…yeah Nico, is something wrong?" Thalia asked.
"No…no…I…just want…wanted to…tell you…that I'm…I'm sorry that you feel bad." Nico said to her in a saddened tone.
"It's ok Nico once we're through with this hopefully everything will be back to normal," Thalia reassured the young demigod with a smile.
"If…if…it helps…I…I picked this up…jus…just in case…you…you needed it." Nico responded as he took something from his jacket pocket and show it to Thalia.
"What the fuck is that!" Thalia hissed as she observed the box of Vagisil her oh so lovely sister sent to her.
"I…I thou…thought it…would make…make you feel better." Nico explained as he gulped.
Thalia stood as smoke was literally coming from her head and screamed in frustration as energy began to build in her hand.
Nico who was scared shitless at the moment swore he had heard Thalia say "stupid fucking sisters, sew her pussy shut, and other derogatory remarks." Before she screamed and fired a combination lightning and energy bolt down the tunnel.
Once she had fired the lightning bolt Thalia and Nico stood there and watched it, as the bolt traveled down the corridor illuminating it as it went. After a moment, the light was gone and the two demigods believed the bolt had burned itself out. Unfortunately, they were wrong for at that moment a "BOOM!" could be heard echoing throughout the tunnel as the ground began to shake which caused Thalia to shout "FUCK! Hold tight Nico!"
"Wh…why?" Questioned the scared demigod.
"Shockwave!" Thalia screamed as the shockwave reached them causing them to fall and stumble over and over again.
Soon the shockwave vanished and nothing could be seen moving in the tunnel. After a few minutes' rubble began to move and soon a dirty and dusty daughter of Zeus stood and began to look for Nico. "Nico! Nico where are you?" She called out when suddenly a "uuuhhh over…over here" was heard. Thalia quickly made her way over and helped dig him out. Once she had made sure he was alright Thalia said in a despondent tone "I'm…I'm sorry Nico I didn't mean for that to happen."
"It…its…ok" Nico said still panting "I'll…say this…it was one Hades of a ride."
This caused Thalia to smile and laugh a little.
At this Nico gasped "Thalia you're feeling better!"
Thalia became silent as she realized that Nico was right and replied "yeah…yeah…I guess I am."
"But how?" Nico asked.
"I…I guess when I released that bolt of whatever the Hades it was it reduced the amount of energy I had absorbed into my body, causing me to feel better," Thalia responded.
"So what does that mean?" Nico inquired.
"It means death breath that as long as I keep releasing some of the energy I will be fine," Thalia said with a big smile.
And for the next half hour or so Thalia practiced in releasing her energy. She conjured other lightning bolts to see how long she could maintain them and then let them disperse. Remembering what happened earlier at the gap in the ground Thalia using the information Percy gave her tried to and successfully opened a portal for like three seconds. By the time she was through practicing Thalia had used a good portion of the energy she had absorbed. "I…I…think…I'm…I'm alright…for a while. I…used up…a lot…of energy." Thalia panted.
"That's great!" Nico exclaimed as he hugged the demigoddess glad that she and they would be fine.
"Uhhhh… Nico… just what are you doing?" Thalia asked the son of Hades.
"Oh…oh sorry I was just so happy that you are going to be alright and that we won't get blown up that I hugged you," Nico replied as he let go of the hug.
"Well in case you didn't know I'm an engaged woman and by law, I have to report this to Percy. I'll tell him it was an accident but Odin only knows what he will do to you." Thalia said as she was smirking on the inside.
"Wha…what! Please don't tell him, I don't want him to kill me! It was just a hug, I'm sorry I'll… I'll… never do it again!" Nico pleaded.
"I'm sorry Nico but it's a law I have to tell him or he will punish me. However, I…I will ask him to make it painless, though. I couldn't bear to see what happened to the last guy that hugged me happen to you." Thalia said seriously.
"Wha…what did…he…he do?" Nico asked.
Thalia stepped closer and leaned in as if to keep it quiet "nothing death breath I was just fucking with you." Thalia exclaimed as she fell laughing on the ground.
Nico stood there stunned as his face began to twitch and finally he said: "you…you what!"
Thalia looked up and started laughing even harder "go…gods… Ni…Nico you…you should… see…see the look… on your face."
"You…you…BITCH! You made me shit my pants!" Nico bellowed which caused Thalia to laugh even harder. Nico was about to try and take revenge on the daughter of Zeus when an echo came down the tunnel from the volcano "run! Annabeth hurry! Annabeth watch out! Noooo!" voice that sounded like Zoe's shouted.
/\/\/\/\/\